Photo by: Spencer Gnauck/Texas A&M Athletics
Back To School
Dec 17, 2018 | Football
Editor's note: Pat earned a bachelor's of science in business, with a minor in sport management and leadership, in December 2020.
Pat Thomas bought an Aggie Ring years ago, but he never got his degree to go along with it. Now 64, the former Texas A&M cornerback is going back to school.
He seeks both a diploma and an Aggie Ring, which was stolen from his home several years ago.
"I've accomplished almost every goal that I set for myself in life, whether it's football, business or family," Thomas said. "I've been pretty blessed with a good life, a really good life, but the one thing I set out to do I didn't do was to get my degree from A&M.
"I didn't go to school to play football, so getting that degree from A&M always meant everything to me."
Thomas left College Station in 1976 needing only 10 hours for his bachelor's in business. He returns 43 years later needing 30 hours for a bachelor's in university studies.
He will start with two online classes beginning Jan. 14. Thomas doesn't care how long it takes.
"I'm not doing anything else," he said.
Life got in the way the first time. Thomas entered the NFL as a second-round draft choice of the Los Angeles Rams in 1976. He married, Lenith, and reared four children. He became a successful assistant football coach and a successful businessman.
But Thomas retired for a third time a year ago.
"I started getting involved at A&M, and I started thinking, 'Man, I'm not doing anything right now,'" Thomas said. "One thing that I've always wanted, the thing that meant the most to me, when I started going to college my first year, was to get my degree. It's not what you do with the degree. It's the accomplishment of having that degree from A&M, and the meaning it has is so deep to everyone that has one. I just don't think it's right for me not to have that experience."
Thomas' nephew, Joe Wesley, turned Thomas' thought into action when he mentioned a tuition reimbursement program for former NFL players. Thomas qualified for a $17,500 Trust Scholarship through the NFL Players Association.
"For some, they want that degree because they promised family members," said Maria Krauel, an AthLife advisor who oversees Thomas' scholarship. "For some, it's a career change. For others, like Pat, it's a personal goal they set for themselves."
Thomas originally pitched the idea of returning to school to Cathy Capps, assistant athletic director, Letterman's Association, last year. He got serious about it when his oldest daughter received her degree in August.
No one can remember a former athlete returning to school after such a long absence.
"I truly didn't know what to expect, but Pat has always been a man of his word," said Capps, who has held her job for 23 years. "Sure enough, he did his homework with the NFL to secure the scholarship made available to former players and then diligently contacted A&M to determine what was needed to enroll. I was shocked at how close to graduation he was, how many classes carried over and how quickly he dotted all of the I's and crossed all of the T's in order to keep the ball rolling. He was undeterred by any obstacle."
A FIRST
Thomas' parents didn't go to college, but his family name remains famous in his hometown of Plano. James Thomas Elementary in Plano Independent School District is named after Thomas' grandfather, who was affectionately known as "Mr. Jim." Mr. Jim still is celebrated in a photo in the private seating area of the Capital Grille in Plano. A gym in Plano, the Ben Thomas Gymnasium at the Boys & Girls Club, is named after Mr. Jim's brother.
"It was less than 1 percent minority when I was growing up," Thomas said, "and all the minorities were my relatives."
Thomas, who played cornerback, running back and kicker, helped Plano High School to the 1971 state championship. He chose A&M and became an All-American. The Rams made him the 39th overall draft choice in 1976, and Thomas went on to start 67 games and make 26 interceptions while earning All-Pro once and going to the Pro Bowl twice in seven NFL seasons.
"As a coach, players paid attention to him because they knew he played the position at a very high level," said Cleveland Browns interim head coach Gregg Williams, who calls Thomas his mentor. "One of my favorite stories came from Gene Upshaw. When Gene was the president of the players' union during those early days when I was in the National Football League, I asked Gene, I said, 'Gene, who is the toughest player you ever played against?' He said, 'Pat Thomas.' I said, 'Why? He was a defensive back. You are an offensive lineman.' He said, 'Every single time I got ready to pull out there on those sweeps that we used to run, Pat used to come up and just cut me, turn me over and flip-flop me. He made me worried about me protecting my legs all of the time, and I was not a very good blocker whenever any time that I had the chance to block Pat Thomas.' It has been one of the things that when I coach from that part of it, listen to Gene Upshaw talk about it. That is how Pat Thomas played. It brings a smile to my face. He will always be a very close friend and a mentor in my life."
Thomas served as an assistant coach with the Houston Gamblers of the United States Football League, the University of Houston, the Houston Oilers, the Indianapolis Colts and the Buffalo Bills before entering the business world.
"I was able to go back and coach, and hopefully added value to people's lives by giving them input from everything I learned as a player," Thomas said.
Now, he's a student again, though he doesn't feel like a freshman.
"But I am going to work as hard as I can to make sure that I get my grades to fulfill the goal that I've set for myself," Thomas said.
Thomas doesn't need a degree; he wants a degree.
For all he's accomplished, Thomas is way behind the rest of his family.
His wife has a pharmacology and pharmacy degree from Butler University. His oldest daughter, Heather McCarthy, has a B.S. in business administration from the University of Phoenix and teaches in a private school in Dallas. His oldest son, Patrick Thomas Jr., has a B.A. in biology from Rice. He finished his Fulbright Fellowship in Madrid, Spain, and went to the University of Washington. Patrick Jr. joined the Medical Scientist Training Program, completing the MD and PhD molecular biology programs and now has a private practice in Houston. Thomas' youngest daughter, Tamara, has a B.S. in biology from Indiana University and a B.S. in nursing from the University of Texas Medical Branch and now is a regional director managing hospitalists and nurses. Thomas' youngest son, Joshua, has a B.S. in business management and computer science from Purdue University. He currently is a paramedic and working on his nursing degree to become an anesthetist.
"My wife, my kids, my grand-babies, they all have degrees; everyone has one except me," Thomas said. "And I paid for all of them but one."
Thomas vows to purchase another Aggie Ring after his was stolen from his house, along with more than $100,000 in other jewelry, years ago. He wouldn't have worn that Ring anyway, figuring he didn't earn it. The next one, though, Thomas will wear with pride.
Thomas also plans on walking across the stage to get his diploma. Then, he'll hang it alongside his wife's and three of his kids in the office of their Pearland home.
"I have no football memorabilia where anybody can see it," Thomas said. "But once I get this degree, it's going up where everybody can see it. I want mine up there with theirs. We've got to get five."
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